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Rabindranath Tagore
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
Rabindranath Tagore was born on 7 May 1861 in Calcutta, the youngest of thirteen surviving children in a family at the forefront of the Bengal Renaissance. Literary magazines were published in the house, and both Bengali and Western classical music could be heard there. His father had dhrupad singers come to teach the children Indian classical music, and one of his brothers was a composer and playwright. Tagore was writing poems at the age of eight and at sixteen published his first serious verse under the pseudonym Bhānusiṃha.
Music and breakthrough
He was a poet, writer, playwright, painter and composer, and left behind an oeuvre of some two thousand songs. His best-known works are Gitanjali, Gora and Ghare-Baire. In 1913 he became the first Indian and the first non-European to receive a Nobel Prize, the one for Literature. His songs, which Bengalis call rabindrasangeet, were lyrical and spiritual and broke with rigid classical forms. Tagore remained a critic of nationalism and opposed British rule. He founded the university Visva-Bharati.
Influence
His influence on music is exceptionally large. Two countries chose a composition of his as their national anthem: Jana Gana Mana for India and Amar Sonar Bangla for Bangladesh. The national anthem of Sri Lanka, too, was inspired by his work. This makes him perhaps the only poet whose melodies are sung daily in two nations. In a pop history that is mostly about studios and record labels, he is a reminder that a song can also carry a culture. To this day his songs are recorded and sung anew.
Listening
Discography
Studio albums
- 1958Lukochuri (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (soundtrack)
- 1999Nirabo Nirjane
- 2001Memorable Tagore Songs
- 2007Birohini
- 2010Nutan Aloay
- 2010Sedin Dujane
- 2010Tumi Amari
- 2011Paran Khule
- 2011Yatra 2
- 2023Shastry Vs Shastry (soundtrack)
- ?Lukochuri (soundtrack)
In School of Rock
The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.
- The Dream Factory: Film Reel 6NL Reader
Mentioned in other articles
- Parallel cinema (Bengal) Genre
He knew Western classical music well and combined it with Bengali folk music and songs by Rabindranath Tagore.